Improving China’s Environmental Performance through Adaptive Implementation—A Comparative Case Study of Cleaner Production in Hangzhou and Guiyang

Ting Guan,Jianxing Yu,Dieter Grunow

doi:10.3390/su6128889

Abstract

This paper examines local policy implementation of Cleaner Production (CP) in China. As the major policy implementer, China’s local government plays a crucial role in promoting CP. A better understanding of the factors affecting local government’s incentives regarding CP and different strategies available to the local government can help policy makers and implementers improve CP practices and other environmental policy outcomes. This paper uses the cases of Hangzhou and Guiyang to demonstrate that local conditions of policy implementation have a direct impact on the success of CP promotion. Based on 35 in-depth interviews, statistical data and internal government reports, we find that the location-based incentives of local government strongly influence their implementation strategies; and that the choices of different strategies can bring out various policy results. From this study, the identified location-based incentives are affected by energy resource endowment, economic development stage and technological competence. The successful implementation strategies involve using different policy instruments synthetically, regulating CP service organizations by controlling their qualifications, differentiating CP subsidizations, and improving transparency of project progress and outcomes.

Highlights

Cleaner Production (CP) is considered as one of the most important preventive strategies to improve environmental performance of industries [1,2]
We propose a priori that local government’s incentive is one of the most influential factors to the formations of local CP strategies; and varied strategies bring out different CP policy impacts and outcomes in various places
Adapted from conceptual framework by Oliver and Ortolano (2006) [17], which was designed for analyzing the implementation of the CP program, we focus the analytical framework on internal incentives and the corresponding implementation strategy of local government

Summary

Introduction

Cleaner Production (CP) is considered as one of the most important preventive strategies to improve environmental performance of industries [1,2]. As an attractive strategy for pollution prevention and cost-effective production, CP practice has been carried out for more than 20 years in many countries all over the world [3]. Took effect on 1 January 2003 and marked the normative and legal management for CP practice, and it was further revised in March 2012 to update the new developments of CP regulations. This legislation of CP highlights China’s green ambition on decoupling economic growth and its energy use from environmental deterioration. How to improve policy implementation at the local level in order to promote CP practices is the key of the challenge

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Methods

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Conclusion